It should come as no surprise to anyone when I say that America is suffering from an obesity epidemic. Over the past year or so I’ve read, watched and soaked in lots of information about food and nutrition. I am by no means an expert but this is a topic that thoroughly interests me.
Some of the information I stumble across can be quite shocking. This week alone there have been two eye-opening articles released. On Tuesday an article came out that discussed what would happen if everyone in America lost 20 pounds and how that would affect the nation. Just 20 pounds would bring most people down to around their normal BMI. Pretty interesting stuff if you ask me!
On the same day (Fat Tuesday, by the way!), Gallup released it’s annual poll on the Fattest States in America. Tennessee is 7th on the list of the most obese. Almost all of the top 10 states were in the south. One in three Tennesseans are considered obese. Obesity in this study means they have a BMI greater than 30. “Normal” is 18-24. Here’s how it looks:
Another thing that has stuck with me lately is about what Americans are eating. Why do we keep getting larger? Why does the obesity trend keep increasing and increasing? Here’s part of it: We have stopped eating real food and are eating food-like products. What does that even mean?! It means that most of the foods that we love and enjoy and taste SOOO delicious are made in a lab. Created to stimulate your brain and taste buds so you want more. It’s not there to nourish your body. It’s designed to trick you into eating more. If you really want a wake-up call, watch the documentary Hungry for Change. It goes into lots of details about this very topic!
So what can you do?! The biggest thing is to stay informed!!! Be knowledgeable! Take control of what goes in your body. Read your nutrition labels. If there is a big ole laundry list of unrecognizable items…..it probably isn’t too good for you! Start changing the way you think about food. Think of it as fuel for your body. What can you fuel your body with to keep it in working tip top condition? If you don’t know where to start or feel overwhelmed…..give me a call or shoot me an email! I would LOVE to help! I’m working on making better choices just like everybody else and I know how hard it is to start. Change doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a slow, slow process. But I promise…….YOU CAN DO IT!!!
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